


Swim Like an Illyrian

by sv_you_know_who_I_am



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 09:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7795705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sv_you_know_who_I_am/pseuds/sv_you_know_who_I_am
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Inner Circle heads to the beach to unwind, and Feyre learns that wings come in handy for more than just flying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swim Like an Illyrian

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw a video of a bat swimming and I could not resist. This is pure, unadulterated fluff.
> 
>  

 

“Wait . . . you can swim?” I asked, staring blankly at my mate, who was lounging on one shoulder against the door frame, a smirk on his lips.

Rhys lifted an eyebrow, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted with an embarrassed shrug. “I just never . . . pictured you underwater.” In the sky, yes, but . . . there was some cognitive dissonance involved in imagining my Illyrian warrior beneath the surface.

Rhys took several strides toward me so fast I could hardly blink. “If memory serves me . . . you’ve seen me underwater plenty.” His warm breath skated over my cheekbones and images of our shared bath the night before flooded into my mind. My cheeks turned even redder.

“It’s not the same,” I muttered breathlessly. My hands reached out for him of their own accord, but he nimbly stepped away toward the bed.

“I bought you swim clothes,” Rhys said, lifting the garments on the bed with two fingers. He frowned slightly as a thought occurred to him and he tilted his head back in my direction. “You can swim, can’t you?” He seemed stunned that he hadn’t thought to ask.

I gave him a reassuring smile and walked over to take the swim clothes from him. “Yes, I can swim.” I kissed him on the cheek and his grin returned.

“Good. I mean . . . I would have taught you if you couldn’t, but . . .” He let out a huff of laughter. “It’s so easy for me to assume you can do everything, as magnificent as you are.”

I smirked and ran a finger along the hard edge of his wing. He shuddered. “Careful, High Lord. Butter me up much more and I’ll start expecting other kinds of underwater activity.”

A low growl sounded in the back of his throat and his closed his eyes to keep his composure. “Believe me, Feyre darling, I haven’t ruled anything out.”

-

Despite our flirting, I made Rhys leave while I changed, and soon I met him downstairs in the foyer of the townhome with a towel slung over one shoulder. He was still fully-dressed, and my mouth twisted in a tiny flash of disappointment. He caught my thoughts and winked at me, but he took my hand and when we stepped outside he winnowed us to one of the warm Velaris beaches just south of the city proper. The air was not cold, but it was crisp as it drifted through the sky and pushed the soft waves up on the sand.

There was a loud whooping as Cassian saw us arriving. He jogged across the sand, already in his own swimwear. His massive, muscled chest gleamed like he’d already been in for a dip once already. Mor was reclined at the edge of the surf, the waters lapping up around her smooth, white ankles. Her head was tipped back as she basked in the sun, a smile on her face. Azriel was beside her, his wings fanned out to absorb the warm rays, and his expression was serene and content. Amren sat much farther up on the beach, knees curled to her chest as she eyed the water with a look of both trepidation and loathing.

I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my face as I saw all of my friends here. Cassian reached us and gave Rhys a welcoming slap on the arm. “Good day for a swim,” he said with a grin. He turned his hazel eyes to me and said, “This is a water-wolf free zone, understood? I don’t feel like having my ass bitten off by magical canines today.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, if you’re on your best behavior . . . but if you’re going to be a prick I am not responsible for whatever might choose to come after your ass.” Mor crowed with laughter from where she sat on the beach.

“Listen,” Cassian said, “my ass is fabulous. Let’s not wreck the merchandise.”

I snorted and shook my head, but at the same time my hand snaked around behind Rhys and gave _his_ ass a pinch. _In any competition of the posteriors, yours wins_ , I said into his mind.

A shadow of a smirk flickered across his features. _Of course it does_.

We walked across the beach to lay out our towels, and once I had gotten mine laid out I turned around to find that Rhys had finally removed his tunic and trousers, leaving only a tight pair of swimming trunks that made a delightful show of his hips and thighs. They rode low and I could see his pelvis rising along the ridge of them--not to mention the dark line of hair that trailed just beneath this navel. I sent a hot trickle of desire down our bond and he sent one straight back until I could feel the warmth pooling in my core.

“Feyre, you’re drooling,” Cassian said, poking my arm. I gave him a shove and he did me the courtesy of pretending to lose his balance. Once he righted himself, he gave a loud whoop and bounded across the sand into the waves. Mor rose to her feet and looked between us with a radiant smile before following in after him, letting out a holler of her own. Azriel went in less than a moment later.

I jumped as Rhys appeared behind me. “Ready, darling?” he asked, his palms tracing lines down my arms.

“If you are,” I said.

He laced his fingers in mine and then, on the same breath, we took off running together across the sand and into the surf, our strides matching perfectly. I squealed as the cool water surged around my ankles. Then I let out a gasp as Rhys wrapped his arm around the back of my legs and spun me through the air in one circled before setting me down again. Disoriented, I almost fell over, but by then we we deep enough that the water anchored me to the sandy floor below.

The sea splashed up into my mouth and I could taste the brine. I compulsively spit it out, but soon there was so much of it everywhere that there didn’t seem to be a point. I let the water embrace me, and I dipped my head under one of the coming waves.

It knocked me back farther than I expected, and I struggled to get my footing again. Swimming in the sea was very different from the ponds and lakes I’d been in before--and I tried not to think of the old temple at the Summer Court that had nearly held me under.

“Feyre!” Mor said, grabbing my hand. “Here--let me show you.” She guided me to a spot in between waves and taught me how to balance and jump over the oncoming pulses. Once I got used to it, I hollered and whooped with glee as I let the waves carry me.

I had stopped jumping for a little while to catch my breath and was contentedly floating when something wrapped around my ankle under the water and jerked me under. I didn’t have time to screamed before water filled my mouth. I was being dragged along under the surface by a huge dark shape, and it wasn’t until I was pulled upright again and pressed into a solid body that I realized it was Rhys.

Our heads broke the surface and I gasped for breath, rubbing my nose to get the brine out before smacking his chest. “Rhys!” I scolded. In the next moment, the adrenaline hit and I smiled. “Warn me next time!”

“Where would the fun be in that?” he asked.

I realized as he held me in the deep water that his legs weren’t moving--he wasn’t kicking to keep us upright. Then I saw motion behind him and my mouth fell open as I saw his massive black wings stirring through the water, keeping us upright. “Oh,” was all I could manage to say. Rhys laughed.

Motion caught my eyes to the left and I saw Azriel shoot through the water, his own wings propelling him forward with grace and precision. _Of course_. Swimming was like flying for them. I had thought their wings might get in the way underwater, but this made so much more sense.

I turned my face back to Rhys and forgot what I was going to say for a moment as the joy in his violet eyes swept me away. “Teach me,” I breathed. I allowed my wings to appear behind me and I let out a little yelp as the water brushed the sensitive membranes.

Rhys’s eyes scanned my face and my wings with nothing short of wonder on his face. Then, as if unable to hold back a moment longer, he kissed me deeply. The taste of him mixed with the salt in both our mouth and my fingers clung to his chest. I pulled myself closer until our hips connected under the water.

“Hey! Love-bats!” Cassian hollered from where he was treading water nearby with Azriel. “Find another beach if you’re so desperate. No one wants to see that!”

Rhys and I pulled apart and both of us flipped him off in unison. Azriel laughed so hard his concentration broke and he disappeared under the surface. He crested again and shook out his dark hair, splashing Cassian in the face. Cassian muttered to himself and propelled himself farther out to sea.

I turned back to Rhys. My mouth almost hurt from smiling so much. “Teach me how to swim like an Illyrian,” I said.

Our bond pulsed with love between us as Rhys kissed my forehead. “It would be an honor.”


End file.
